John MacDonald: What problem is Winston trying to fix?

Author: John MacDonald,
Publish Date: Mon, 6 Jul 2026, 12:37pm

NZ First wants to put limits on who can vote here in New Zealand.

At the moment, anyone who is a permanent resident can vote and NZ First wants to change that.

Winston Peters says voting is a privilege and should be restricted to “those who have sworn allegiance to New Zealand and who have made the commitment to make New Zealand their home and their future.”

I can‘t think of one good reason why we’d want to go down this route.

Yes, New Zealand has one of, what you might call, the most generous voting systems in the world. You don’t have to be a citizen to vote here.

Unlike other countries, such as Australia, the United States, Canada, France, Germany and Japan. You can’t vote in those countries if you’re not a citizen.

But what’s the problem with it? It’s been in place here since 1975 and I’m not aware of it causing any issues.

Winston Peters, though, says: “They can vote on who the government is, they can vote on who the local council is, they can even vote in referendums that would fundamentally change the social fabric of our society.”

He says if someone hasn’t made that commitment or sworn that allegiance, why should they get a say in how this country is run or governed?

Just on that swearing allegiance bit. I’m a New Zealand citizen, but I’ve never sworn allegiance to New Zealand.

I was just born here. So I think Winston is pushing a bit there.

What’s more, this policy announcement sounded very much like the sort of talk that British politician Nigel Farage has been trotting out in the last couple of months.

He said a few months back: “Surely it is only right that British citizens should be able to vote in British elections on British issues.”

So they’re parroting each other.

But what’s the problem that needs fixing?

What’s the problem that NZ First thinks only letting New Zealand citizens vote is the solution?

Because, for me, if someone is legally entitled to be here and they’re contributing to the country through taxes - and other ways - then they have just as much right to vote as New Zealand citizens do.

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